Hard lump in neck, can't think of anything else :(

[freeme]

I have a hard lump-like mass on my neck, a few inches below my ear (where my jaw starts). I've made the mistake of Googling this and it's right where some lymph nodes would be. The lump is deep and seems to be underneath my neck muscle. It's not tender at all and is very firm (I can't move or squish it at all). It's not on my left side at all.

I went to the doctor not too long ago for an immigration physical, and he felt my lymph nodes and said he couldn't feel anything. He didn't press very hard, though, and as I said it's pretty deep so I doubt he could've felt it. I thought that he would comfort me by checking it, but I still find myself thinking and worrying about it all the time. I've made the mistake of going to Google, and of course everything comes up cancer. I'm a horrible carcinophobe and I'm extremely unsure what to do... I don't have any insurance, but I can't think of anything it could be that wouldn't be serious. I just turned 22 and I feel trapped by my fear of the C word right now. I should have insurance in 6-8 months when my immigration finally processes, but until then I feel stuck, and I'm worried about waiting that long. I feel extra silly since I was JUST at the doctor's two weeks ago. Any advice or reassurance would be greatly appreciated! :(

[MissJennayee]

Hi free, if you're lymph nodes were actually swollen - it'd be very visible, you wouldn't have to press on them to feel, they'd be sticking out of your neck!
I went through lymphoma scare last year and I would poke and prode at mine all day long.
Sometimes they would be firm which would scare the hell out of me sometimes not at all, nonetheless it would terrify me to dig my fingers into my neck and feel a lump which I had never really noticed before until I did some googling myself.. but really, you have nothing to be worried about. It's normal and certainly not the "C" word!

[meg86]

Hello!! i have a gland under my jaw where yours is, i was really scared about it to, its grape sized and does feel firm.

I went to the doctor who said it was nothing to worry about, i know alot of people have a gland just like this under their jaws, it hasnt got any bigger and i first noticed it about 6 months ago (but i think has been there longer)

If you are very worried go to your doctor they usually know straight away when glands are something to worry about.

xx

[Stressed32]

you do know that there is a bone there too that feels like a hard bump. Feel the other side and see if it is there too. FYI...my right side is a bit bigger than the left. Many Doctors have felt it and said it was my skull.

[freeme]

Jeez, you all make great points... Google really makes it seem like any hard, immovable lump or bump is usually the "C" word - I must learn to stay away!

MissJennayee: Yes, I'm right there with you! My dad got Hodgkin's when he was my age so it's been in my mind a lot. My more recent (and even less sane) concern is that it's something spreading from somewhere else - believe me, I know how dumb it sounds! Thanks so much for your support, glad to know there are others like me out there.

meg86: It makes me feel lots better than you have something similar... it just feels quite fixed and firm, and isn't tender when I touch it. I've been having an issue with the ear on the side that it's on (tinnitus mostly) for a while, before I noticed the lump... maybe it's one of those things that swells up and just stays that way or something..

Stressed32: I can feel something on the other side, but nowhere near the same size.. and it's not quite a distinct bump like on the right.

[freeme]

Well I still can*t stop worrying/feeling the area... I wish I had a doctor friend who could just feel my neck and tell me if I should be concerned or not. It*s definitely VERY hard (can*t move, not spongy at all), and it feels like it could be something matted which has me even more worried. It*s right underneath my right neck muscle but I can feel it sort of extending. I broke down and went to Google to try and find something non-malignant it could be and had little luck.

I feel so stupid since I was just at the doctor*s and he felt the area. I really just don*t feel like he was pressing hard enough; he said it felt slightly swollen but that it was probably the muscle, but I*m pretty sure that it*s the lump/mass pushing the muscle out that made it feel that way. I*m scared that he wasn*t checking thoroughly enough because it was just an immigration physical.

I thought I*d get over this after my physical, but I guess not :( I just want to feel like it could be something normal but it doesn*t seem that way. It*s not at all tender, movable or squishy. I*m not positive that it*s a lymph node or anything but it just seems most likely as it*s in the correct area for that, and I don*t know of anything else that would cause a lump in the neck. It still isn*t visible (only when I feel it) but as I mentioned I*m really just worried that it*s a sign of something spreading from elsewhere. I wish there were a more affordable way of getting peace of mind here than taking another trip to the doctor!

[freeme]

Well, I leave on holiday tomorrow, wish me luck... still have the lump and still can't stop thinking it's metastatic cancer :weep:. Hopefully a nice vacation will help...

[meg86]

aww freeme i feel your pain, doctors are good at diagnosing lumps like this, it does sound like a lymph node to me. if you put lymph node in the search bar you will see lots of posts with people with a lump similar to yours in that area.

Also if you keep prodding you will just end up making it sore and more enlarged.

These glands under our jaws can sometimes stay enlarged after a infection and never go back down, if it was something sinister your doctor wouldnt dismiss it!

I did get myself in a worry about it though, im ok about it now but for a while it bothered me.

I hope it doesnt ruin your holiday! its more common than you think! take care!! :) x

[freeme]

Sorry to resurrect my own old post, but I didn't want to start a new thread as this is still my concern...

My neck lumps are still there. I've been feeling the right side of my neck and comparing to the left and the right side just feels solid and hard by comparison. I made the mistake of googling "hard neck mass" and they say that it's almost always a sign of malignancy in adults (I'm 22). To quote one site, "A fixed mass is extremely ominous, with the exception of some infections, that’s going to mean malignancy in almost every patient." My neck mass is VERY hard and completely fixed.

I'm sorry to rehash everything again, but I feel like I'm back at square 1... it hasn't gone away in 3 months though I don't think it's changed that much in size if at all. I have a full feeling in my right ear all the time and have trouble hearing, which I read is another sign that it's malignant. I'm absolutely terrified right now and think I should go to the doctor, though I'm still completely without insurance and barely can afford my monthly bills... I want to be told I'm just being silly and that it's not cancer but every sign points to the big C. I don't see what else it could be at this point. I'm supposed to be working right now and all I'm doing is obsessing and freaking out! Everything is so negative when it comes to neck masses like mine. One forum I went to had someone who posted with similar symptoms as mine - that is, next to nothing except for the mass - and they wound up having stage 4 cancer. I'm so scared right now and don't know what to do. Sorry for whining :(

[Going home]

Hi freeme

My thoughts are that you must be pressing awfully hard into your neck to be able to feel this if its really down as deep as you say. What I would say to you is that if we were all able to press so deeply into body tissue anywhere on our body, we would all feel something. Some parts of our bodys are just not meant to be felt...they are just there if you see what I mean. If your lymph nodes, or glands were swollen or you had a cyst then you would see them, they would be visible. Your doctor has examined your neck in a way that doctors would do when looking for something that should'nt be there. If he could feel anything strange he would have referred you to an ENT specialist.

You've obviously told the doctor about what you can feel and how long youve been aware of it, so he would've borne this in mind when examining you...why would he just ignore you? He knows what feels right and what doesn't. I would say you havent got cancer, you'd have far more symptoms by now if you had and would be quite ill. You're at the age when its common for neck glands to swell...its very common in teens and 20s..glandular fever is almost exclusive to young people, another name for it is the kissing disease. Its also common when you get a cold or an ear infection for you neck or jaw to be affected.

To press so hard and deeply you could be feeling just a normal part or your throat. Perhaps its all the pressing and probing that making it feel bigger?

Best wishes
GH xx

[freeme]

Thank you for the reply... I am pressing fairly hard into it, and it's definitely not visible. I saw the doc when I'd only first noticed it, and at that time I was having anxiety over an unrelated issue (lump at the base of skull that turned out to just be, well, my skull). I don't think the doc gave my concern much weight since I probably came off as a wacko already.

What I'm feeling could just be part of my neck, but it feels different than the left side of my neck, and it seems like it's where my lymph nodes are/would be. I've been telling myself that if it were really cancer, I'd certainly be sick and having fevers/night sweats/etc, but what I've read says that the first sign of certain types of cancer is usually lumps or masses in the neck from metastasis. That's what has me worried... that I've got something that won't show any real symptoms until it's too late to do anything about it. I'm less worried about lymphoma etc. than I am some sort of head/neck cancer. I had a chest x-ray when I was at the doctor before (immigration physical) and they don't tell you the results unless they find something amiss, and I haven't heard anything which I guess is a good sign... but after reading an article that connects having a feeling of ear fullness on the same side as a neck mass and saying that it's "ominous" has me freaked out. I know it was a mistake to start Googling in the first place, but now it just sounds like that's what I have. I already feel like the boy who cried wolf, but what if this is really a wolf?

I was ready to write this off as something temporary like infection etc. except it's stuck around so long now. I have cats and was thinking it could've even been some weird cat scratch fever from a scratch on my neck (don't recall getting one, but you never know), but again, it's been about 2.5 months since I first noticed something. I'm running out of other things it could be, and this damned article was basically saying that it's cancer 90% of the time.

I really thought I was getting past this and starting to overcome my anxiety, then whoosh... all gone.

[Going home]

Ok, now ive been sitting here pressing quite hard on both sides of my neck, in all parts of it from just along the jawline down to where my shoulders start just to see what I can feel....and it hurts to press so hard so how can you feel into your neck so deeply without alot of pain! I can't see how you can be pressing harder than me but if the 'mass' as you call it has it got bigger since you last saw him then for your own piece of mind you should go back to him and ask him to take another look.

GH xx

[freeme]

I know, my left side if I press hard in the area DOES hurt and is tender... but the right side is hard and doesn't hurt at all, no matter how hard I press. Not a good sign and makes it hard to be optimistic.

[Going home]

Then I would say go back to the doctor and ask him to take another look yes?

GH xx

[marley]

Which site did you go to that told you that your neck 'lump' was ominous? Did the site examine you physically? Did it take your medical history, your age, gender, and race into account? Your family history? Your blood pressure? Did it ask if you had a scalp infection, a tooth infection? Allergies? Did it take a blood test? Did it ask you any questions at all?

No it didn't.

The internet, despite all of its wonderful usefulness for entertainment and shopping, is totally inept when it comes to diagnosing your medical worries. Not only is Google fallible (it's a search engine comprised of algorithms which use your words as search strings - it does not rate the accuracy of information - ANYONE can post information on the internet, not just 'experts') it is also a mine of advertisements. This means that results are influenced by which links are more heavily trafficked/clicked upon. You can bet these are the more dramatic links.

You need to treat your anxiety before it gets any worse. Go back to a doctor, another doctor if you have to. Listen to what they say properly, and voice ANY concerns you have about your health with them. Make sure that you listen to all advice they offer you.

- Marley

[EnglishRose1]

Hi Marley

I too have a large mass of small hard round lumps in the neck, which I have had for literally years.
Like you, I also have to press very hard to feel them, and some are painful or tender but mine are almost all movable rathar than fixed.

I had to visit the doctor several times before they were noticed, and she said one side of the neck was 'fuller' than the other. I am not sure what this is, and it worries me.

I am having an ultrasound on Thursday, so that should give some answers.

[chanebehanan]

this thread is really really old. i dont see a reason to bump it.

[faizeen]

i also have that but i guess i am suffering from some kind of phobia sometime i feel lump in my breast sometime i feel it in my back and now i felt it in my neck it was painful though but i guess its just my imagination i should stop obsessing about having c just because my aunt had it..